


make the best (of being flesh and bone)

by uforock



Series: runaway runaway [5]
Category: Count Duckula, DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Adoption, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Gen, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, tfw you send your kid to a sleepover and she comes home with a sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 14:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21077975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uforock/pseuds/uforock
Summary: Duckula was nervous about sending his daughter off to a sleepover for the first time. However, he hadn't expected a second daughter to be one of the things he had to worry about.





	make the best (of being flesh and bone)

**Author's Note:**

> The daughter we didn’t have moved in,  
Smart and sad, uneasy in her skin,  
Far too young to lose a 'mom',  
Or take the path she’s travelling on,  
If I could whisper in her ear,  
I’d tell the daughter we didn’t have:  
"I’m here."
> 
> \- 'the children we didnt have' from beetlejuice the musical :)
> 
> note: if you dont know anything about duckula all you really need to know is that he's a vegetarian vampire and his caretakers wanted him to be a scary bloodsucking killer, and that dr. otto von goosewing was raised to be a vampire hunter but he just wants to do science and make crazy inventions! and theyre in love

Duckula was nervous about sending his daughter off to a sleepover for the first time. He had almost started packing for her in his excitement, both over the fact that Violet had finally found a friend her own age (as she was prone to starting conversations with adults in her life, but rarely with someone as young as she was), and over the fact that she’d be spending the night somewhere other than their house for the first time since her adoption a few years ago. 

“Okay, now did you get everything packed?”

“Yes, dad,” she said with a smile. 

“Even extra clothes, just in case?”

“ _ Yes,  _ papa.”

“And are you sure you want to bring the amulet…? Not that I’m not proud of your interest in magic! I just-”

“Dad, really, I’ve got everything under control. I promise,” she smiled up at him, used to his protective nature. He dropped to his knees and scooped her up into a big hug.

“Yeah, yeah, give your old man a break! I’m  _ proud _ of you, and I want this to go well for you!”

“Oh, leave the poor kiddo alone, darling. She can handle herself just fine,” Von Goosewing said, stepping into the room with a large duffle bag under one arm.

“Oh, so you didn’t come in here with that big old bag full of monster hunting equipment  _ just in case _ , then?” Duckula gave him a half smile, looking up at his husband. Von goosewing blushed, trying (and failing) to hide the bag behind his back.

“Whaaaaaat? Of course not! This is just… Sports gear!”

“Honeypie, we’ve been married for nearly a decade  _ and _ I’ve known you for almost thirty years, I  _ think _ I’d know you by now. Besides, the McDuck mansion has magic wards on it like crazy, If I weren’t vegetarian I wouldn’t even be able to get past the front  _ gates _ without Scrooge’s permission, much less the front door! There’s nowhere safer in Duckburg for her to be!”

Von Goosewing sighed with a smile, dropping the bag on the ground and sitting on the edge of her bed. “Except, of course, safe at home with the world's greatest vampire hunter!”

“ _ Worlds best- _ you’ve never caught one single vampire in your whole life!” Duckula laughed, picking Violet up and sitting next to Von Goosewing. 

“Well, I politely disagree,” he said, reaching over and lacing their hands so their wedding rings knocked together. Duckula blushed, looking away with a smile.

“...Alright, that’s fair, actually. You caught me the first day we met with those pretty eyes of yours.”

“Could you please put the sappy husbands talk on hold while I’m packing? I just got a text saying my ride is outside,” Violet said, zipping up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulders. 

She hopped off the bed, dusting herself off. Duckula and Von Goosewing stood as well, smiling. “You have both of our numbers, and the house phone if you need anything or if you wanna come home early or if anything goes wrong, right?”

“Yes, dad.”

“And you are sure that you don’t want to bring-”

“I have my own methods of defense against the supernatural, papa. I can take care of myself. I learned from the best, after all.”

Her fathers smiled and hugged her close again, letting go as her phone buzzed. The three of them walked to the door and she stepped outside, a man standing on the doorstep with a piece of paper in his hand, a whole limo parked behind him.

“Is this the uh… Sa-bre-wing residence?”

“I’m Violet Sabrewing, yes,” she approached him. The man smiled and stuffed the paper into his pocket.

“Cool! You wanna ride shotgun or sit in the back?”

“I’ll take the front seat, if that’s alright.”

Duckula wrapped an arm around Von Goosewing’s back, cuddling into his side. Von Goosewing sniffled. “They grow up so fast…”

“Oh, calm down, she’s going to a sleepover, not going away for college. What’s the most that could happen?

…

Duckula got a phone call later that night. He was laying in bed, the blankets pulled up over his shoulders, his husband sitting next to him reading a book. He answered, of course, a little bleary with sleep.

“Vi, sweetpea? Everything okay?”

_ “Hello, Dad? Do you remember when I first came to you asking about magic, and you confided in me about your past and your… condition, and said that you’d always support me in my interests?” _

“... Yes, I do remember that. You’re bringing this up because...?”

_ “...And do you remember a few weeks ago when you and papa pulled me aside and told me that you were considering adopting another child so that I grew up more socialized and well adjusted?” _

_ “Violet, what’s going on?” _

_ “Before you make any decisions, is it okay if a friend of mine spends the night for a while? She’s… been through a lot. She needs somewhere stable to go.” _

Duckula sat up, Von Goosewing giving him a confused look.

“Yes, yeah, of course, Vi. You want me to fix up the guest room?”

_ “Let me ask her,” _ Violet said, covering the microphone and talking to someone out of shot.

Von Goosewing tilted his head. Duckula leaned on him, shushing him and kissing his cheek. 

“ _ She said she would prefer to stay in my bedroom for now. We’re both worried about the possibility of night terrors. _ ”

“Alright, honey… Do her parents know she’s staying with us?”

“ _ Um… That’s a difficult question. Rest assured, all adults that can be considered her guardians are aware of the situation. _ ”

“That’s a little vague, but alright, just don’t get us arrested for kidnapping, alright?”

_ “Of course. I love you, tell papa I love him too.” _

“Vi says she loves us,” Duckula looked up at Von Goosewing.

“Oh! Love you too, dear.”

“Sweet dreams, don’t stay up too late.”

“ _ Yes, sir. Goodnight. _ ”

Duckula plugged his phone back in, rolling over and burying his face in Von Goosewing’s chest. “What’s going on, my fruit bat?”

“Seems like we’ve got another daughter coming home tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

…

“And you’re absolutely sure your dads are okay with this?” Lena wrung her hands, tugging on the fabric of her sweater. 

“Absolutely. They’ve been discussing adopting another child for a few months now, because I don’t have a lot of friends my own age. I think they would like you for your personality as well,” Violet put a hand on her arm, reassuring.

Lena took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m good. I’m good. Let’s do this.”

“Lena?”

“Vi?”

“You can exhale, everything is fine.”

Lena paused, then exhaled, her breathing evening out. “Alright, I’m good for real now, let’s just get this over with.”

Violet knocked on the door, stepping back and waiting. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” a voice with a heavy German accent said behind the door. Lena heard at least four locks slide open, the door opening. “Oh, you must be Violet’s little friend! Welcome to our home! Come in, come in!”

Lena stood awkwardly for a moment before Violet took her hand, pulling her forward past the entryway. “Lena, this is my papa, otherwise known as Dr. Otto Von Goosewing.”

“Hey,” she waved, jerking her head back to knock her bangs out of her eyes. 

“Oh, jeez are they already home? Dinner’s not quite ready yet,” another voice came from further within the house. The decorations were a bit odd, but thinking about it, Lena had never been in a normal house for more than a few minutes at a time, usually to steal some food and a shower when the occupants were out. 

There were ornate picture frames on the walls that looked like they were repurposed from holding expensive old paintings, like something right out of a museum. Upon closer inspection, some of the frames  _ were _ holding paintings; mostly of Violet and who Lena assumed her other dad was, some with Dr. Otto in them as well. She noticed that the only images of Violet’s other dad were the paintings, all the actual photos having him mysteriously absent.

The man in question skidded into the room, wearing an apron and wiping his hands off on it. Flour stuck out against his green feathers, a giddy smile on his face. “Hiya! I’m Duckula, Violet’s other dad. We’re having pizza for dinner, is that alright?”

“That’s fine by me. I’m Lena,” she held her hand out. He shook it enthusiastically, rattling her a little bit. 

“Pleasure to meetcha! Dinner’ll be ready in about half an hour, I forgot to account for the time it would take to preheat the oven when I went through the recipe. Sure, I can chill the dough for a whole  _ day _ but 40 minutes of oven preheating time is too much for my mind to handle, I guess,” he rubbed his temple, frowning. Dr. Otto patted his back gently. 

“Eh, you did better than I would have.”

Duckula snorted. “That’s because you can’t cook at  _ all.  _ Last time I let you in the kitchen you tried to use glass on the stovetop!”

“How am I supposed to  _ see _ it cook through a metal pot?! I do not have the x-ray vision!” Dr. Otto got a distant look in his eyes, tapping his chin and squinting past his glasses. “...Unless…?”

Duckula gave a knowing look, leaning into him. “ _ Unless _ ?”

He snapped his fingers, kissing Duckula on the cheek. “I’ll be in the lab if you need me, sweetums. Call me when dinner’s ready!”

“Love ya!”

“Love you too!”

He headed down the hall and Violet looked up at her dad. “Can we go up to my bedroom now?”

Duckula thought for a moment. “Yes, but you know we’re gonna need to talk over dinner, right?”

“Of course. Love you, dad.”

“Love ya, Vi!” He went back to the kitchen and Violet led Lena up the stairs. The stairwell had a big hanging light that seemed far too old for the house itself. In fact, most of the decorations seemed too old for the house. It felt like the interior design version of someone wearing a Halloween costume, everything seeming victorian and ornate and above all, just really really  _ old. _

“So, like,” Lena said, turning the corner down a hallway. “What’s the deal with your dads? Are they, like, antique collectors or something?”

Violet thought for a moment. “They’re… Eccentric. Most of the decor is from dad’s side of the family. They all live in Europe; I haven’t seen them since I was really young, but it does seem like they all decorate like this.”

“Like they live in a castle instead of a house on a cul-de-sac with a two car garage?”

“Well, dad’s family  _ does _ live in a castle, so it’s really not  _ too  _ surprising.”

“Oh,” said Lena. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Violet opened the door to her bedroom and Lena stepped inside, pulling on the straps of the backpack Webby gave her. 

Violet’s room could be easily described as neat, both in the sense that everything was organized (save for a desk covered in papers and stacked high with library books in the corner), and that it was interesting. A large map of the world hung from one wall, the other wall obscured by a set bunk beds with the aforementioned desk built into the foot of them. Edison string lights lit up the space, hanging from all corners of the room and basking the area in a golden haze. A small pile of bean bag chairs sat stacked up against a wall next to a slightly ajar closet door.

“Nice place you’ve got here, Vi.”

“I like it,” Violet said, setting her stuff down on the bottom bunk. “You can take the top bunk, if you want. I usually sleep down here, just because it’s easier to get down.”

“Fine by me,” Lena said. She took her backpack off, dropping it onto the floor. A comfortable silence fell onto them, Lena still taking in her surroundings.

“So, I have some questions of my own regarding your magic, if that’s alright,” Violet said, crossing one leg over the other.

“Oh, yeah?” Lena responded, throwing herself backwards onto the bean bag chairs. She settled in. “Hit me with em.”

“So, you said that you had magic back  _ before  _ you were trapped in the shadow realm, yes?”

“Yep,” Lena gave a thumbs up.

“Have you tried using your powers since then?”

“Um… Not really? I have to focus, but I can try, if you want.”

Violet leaned forward. “Would you?”

…

Duckula liked to cook. Scratch that, he  _ loved _ to cook. The internet was an amazing place with a vegetarian version of pretty much any recipe he could possibly want. He had even been posting some of his own! They had gotten…  _ mixed _ reviews, but hey, broccoli sandwiches weren’t for everyone. Broccoli with macaroni and cheese was popular, though!

He just wished he could get through the process of cooking a meal without a family crisis happening. 

A loud crash came from upstairs, followed shortly by a crash from the lab downstairs, the power flickering and the lights swinging above the counter. 

Duckula sighed. His work was never done.

He went upstairs to check on the kids, deciding that his husband could handle himself. When he got outside the door, he took a deep breath before knocking gently.

“Vi? Lena? You two okay in there?”

A sharp intake of breath.

“Lena, it’s okay, nobody’s gonna be mad,” came Violet’s hushed voice. There was a small, panicked sound that absolutely broke Duckula’s heart. “We’re not hurt!”

“Can I come in?”

“Yes,” came her quick reply. He stepped inside, wincing at what lay there.

The bunk bed had been knocked over, the whole thing leaning against the opposite wall at an angle. Violet’s map had been torn where the bed’s support beams met the wall, leaving two sizeable dents in the drywall in their wake.

“Ooh, jeez. That’s not good. Is Lena hurt?”

The girl in question was backed against the wall, in the corner furthest from the bed, head in her arms. Violet was sitting facing towards her, one hand on her arm.

“Not physically,” Violet assured him,  _ assured _ being a loose term. He walked over, sitting next to the girls, finding a seat among the bean bags.

“Can you… tell me what happened?”

Violet moved her hand slightly while Lena focused on evening out her breathing. “I asked Lena to try to use her magic to put her bag on the top bunk, but it appears after her time in the shadow realm, her powers are a lot more…  _ potent _ than expected, and we accidentally knocked the bunk bed over. It scraped my shoulder on the way down and Lena is… distressed, to say the least.”

Duckula nodded, taking in the information. “Alright, uh… Let’s start by saying I’m not  _ mad _ or anything. This is hardly the first time something’s fallen over in this house, and nobody got hurt!”

“Not  _ this time _ ,” she muttered, burying her face further into her lap. “Nobody got hurt  _ this time. _ ”

He frowned. “Has… have people gotten hurt in the past when you’ve used your powers? Are you worried it’ll happen again?”

She gave a bitter laugh. “No, but it’s only a matter of time until it happens! I’m- I’m a  _ monster _ . I shouldn’t even  _ exist _ .”

The room fell silent for a long moment, Lena’s shaky breathing seeming much louder than it should. Duckula wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Hey, dinner’s cooling off. D’ya think we can talk about this over pizza?”

Lena sniffled and nodded. “But what about-”

“I can fix the beds after we eat. Food’s important, after all, you’ve gotta maintain your strength! It seems like you’ve had a long day, after all.”

He helped her stand up, Violet following close behind.

“You’ve got  _ no  _ idea.”

…

Lena had never had homemade pizza before. Sure, she lived in italy for a while, but that was mostly house-hopping and stealing what bread she could from restaurants. This was something else entirely.

She  _ loved  _ it.

“You really  _ made  _ this?” she asked through a mouthful of food, starry eyed. 

“Yep! Made the cheese myself and everything! Took me a long while to figure out how to get it right, but I’m pr _ etty _ proud of it!”

“He has always been interested in the culinary arts,” Dr. Otto said, cutting into a slice of pizza with a fork and knife. (Lena wasn’t sure how to feel about that.) 

“Well, you’ve kinda got to when you can’t eat most foods,” Duckula said, taking a bite of the pizza. “Hmm… Needs more basil next time.”

“Can’t eat most foods?” Lena asked. 

The three others looked back and forth, having a silent conversation. 

“...Am I missing something here, or…?”

Duckula turned to face her. “I… have a unique medical condition. That-”

“He’s a vampire,” interrupted Violet.

“Called it,” Lena announced, taking a sip of her drink.

The two adults turned to look at Violet as she took another bite of pizza. “Violet!”

“What? I  _ really  _ don’t see the point in lying to her. She would have figured it out eventually.”

“That’s not- and what do you mean you called it?!”

Lena wiped her mouth. “No photos of you anywhere in the house because vampires don’t show up in photos, there’s no garlic in this pizza, the entire place is decorated like a spooky Victorian castle-”

“Romantic, but you’re close,” Violet cut in.

“And his last name is Von Goosewing? Like, the famous vampire hunters? So what, this is a forbidden love story, ooooooor what?”

They both blushed, laughing nervously. “Something like that... “

“Wait, you really don’t have a problem with the whole vampire thing? You’re- you’re not scared of me?”

Lena shrugged. “I’m literally a creature that’s made of my aunt’s shadow. It’s… kinda hard to out-weird that. And I’ve been following around Scrooge McDuck and his family for a couple months now as a shadow, so  _ really _ , I’ve seen some… Strange things.”

Duckula and Von Goosewing blinked.

“I’m sorry, did you say  _ shadow _ ?”

Lena sighed. “My aunt Magica created me because she was obsessed with getting Scrooge McDuck’s stupid lucky dime and trapping him inside it because of some… over-complicated revenge scheme that was way above my paygrade. She kinda… forced me to do everything she said from the literal minute I was made? The first couple years of my life are kinda hazy… I was mostly a puppet back then,” she shivered.

“Then I guess I got a little too self aware. Started forming  _ opinions _ and  _ wanting _ things. I met Webby, and… wanted to be her friend more than I wanted to help Magica, and Magica got angry. So she took over my body and I was back to being a puppet for her. She-…”

Lena gave a bitter laugh, looking down at her plate. 

“She  _ used  _ me to attack my friends, to attack Scrooge, and then she started the whole shadow war. Once she had what she wanted, I went… back to being a shadow. So I followed Webby around, for months, thinking that was going to be my eternal punishment for… not being what Magica wanted me to be, I guess? Then Violet showed up and pulled me back, and… I guess I’m a magic shadow creature now? Yeah.”

“...” “...”

“Thank you, Lena. Now that that’s all cleared up, do you two have any questions?”

Duckula sat there for a while, trying to figure out where to start.

Von Goosewing cut in, “So… how long have you been in the shadow realm?”

She shrugged. “I… Lost track of time after the third week. Things just started to blur together after that. At least three months, I think.”

“And you got back…?”

“Yesterday.”

Duckula shook his head. “I had a point here, I was making a  _ point _ . Look, my family kind of kicked me to the curb because I couldn’t be what they wanted. Goosewing’s family did the same thing to him. You’re not alone in this. And… between us, if there’s anyone who’s going to understand feeling like a monster for having to follow their family’s legacy, it’s gonna be me,” he said, reaching a hand across the table. Lena took it, hesitating, but she did it still. 

“I… thanks. Count Dorkula,” she looked away, hiding behind her bangs. Von Goosewing snorted out a laugh.

“Pfft-  _ Dorkula _ . Why haven’t I thought of that?” 

“Alright, alright, be nice,” he frowned playfully. 

“Either way,” Von Goosewing cut in, “you are welcome to stay here with us. We both understand losing family, even on bad terms, and the struggles that come with it. If you need a home, or just somewhere to stay, you are  _ always  _ welcome here.”

She simply nodded, a little too choked up to use words. Violet put a hand on her shoulder, steadying and secure.

“Now about fixing the bunk bed…” Violet said, looking between them.

Von Goosewing blinked. “What happened to the bunk bed?”

… Six Months Later … 

Lena had eventually switched to the bottom bunk, after some discussion and some rolling off the top bunk in her sleep. She had covered the entire bottom side of the top bunk with glowy stars that Webby had given her as a housewarming gift, and now…

Her friends were spending the night at her house for the third time that month.

_ Her house _ . She’d never really had that before- never had a house to call her own. She had a sense of stability that she had never had before in just the ability to say  _ my house _ and  _ our room _ and  _ my bed _ and  _ my half of the closet, Vi, keep your clothes on your own side _ . 

Magica was powerless, she knew that now. They’d even saved the world together a few times since then.

She had finally stopped checking her shadow all the time. Her therapist had given her a coupon for a cup of free ice cream when she had brought it up, saying it was a really significant thing, but it was a rather sudden realization that there was a last time.

Von Goosewing had wanted them to be homeschooled, but Duckula had insisted that they go to public school if only to make more friends. They’d already met Gosalyn- a spirited girl with almost more fire in her heart than Webby- and her best friend Boyd. The five of them had movie nights together at Gosalyn’s house so often that their parents had joked about giving the Mallard-McQuack household joint custody of the lot of them.

(Well, except for Boyd’s parents, who nobody ever really saw much of. He mostly stuck by Gosalyn, keeping right by her side the same way Lena did for the other two girls, nobody ever really seeing her without at least one of them by her side.)

She had even gotten the chance to go on a few McDuck family adventures, and a few superhero adventures with Gosalyn’s dads. Seems like everyone around here had an odd set of parents, or in Webby’s case, an odd family in general. 

Even through all the daring adventures, she had a home to go back to. Her parents might have been strange, but she was too, and she liked it that way. They  _ loved  _ her, too, which was strange in a very special way. 

It really, finally hit her that she was home when she was laying on the couch, Violet leaning on one shoulder and Gosalyn on the other, Boyd clinging onto her and Webby curled up asleep in her arms. She was the last one awake, just watching her friends doze off.

Von Goosewing had turned the lights off and wished her goodnight, Duckula dropping kisses on the top of her head.

“G’night, Lena. Don’t forget to turn the TV off before you go to sleep, alright?” Duckula whispered, handing her the remote.

“M’kay dad…”

Oh. She had never called him that before. He had this sickeningly fond smile on his face, so warm she had to look away.

“Love ya, kid…”

“Yeah, yeah, love you too or whatever. G’night.”

This was it. She was really, truly home.

"G'night…"

She could get used to that.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment if you liked this!! i love.... parental dynamics i cant wait to adopt a kid


End file.
